Back Home in Ireland and Keeping Up Sailing...

   Mattis and I are back at work again after sailing Jingo across the Atlantic to the Azores. We flew home in July and Jingo will be kept in the marina until we return next year. Now that I'm back in Ireland, I have taken up dinghy sailing on a more regular basis and on the weekend of the 31st August, I crewed for one of the club members at Callaun Sailing Club for the Callaun Regatta 2019. It was an open mixed fleet, which included GP14's, Wayfarers, Enterprises, RS 200's, Omegas and Lasers. On the Saturday, we were due to have four races. But with 20-25kt gusty squalls crossing the lake not long after we had started, many of us did not finish (DNF) the second, third and fourth races. The Sunday was a much calmer day, making it more fun and competitive for the ninteen boats out on the water. Below shows Tom and I sailing a 14ft Wayfarer.

Tom and I came seventh overall out of fifteen. Not bad, considering we had only finished one of four races from the Saturday. I very much look forward to more racing in the 'Cooler Series', before sailing season ends and winter sets in. ​

George Fitzgerald, another member of Callaun Sailing Club is a graphics designer.

He runs his own company called 'Mobius Design', and he created the promotional poster shown here for the Callaun Regatta 2019 and has done for the past few years.

Take a look at his stunning, edgy projects. Some of his work includes brand ID's and logos for restaurants in Limerick, such as 'The Buttery' and 'Enzo's', to name a couple. ​

​https://www.mobiusdesign.ie

   In the meantime, after flying home in July, Jingo was due to come out of the water on 1st September and stay on the hard for the winter months. Hurricane Lorenzo, a Category 5 Atlantic Hurricane, started to make an appearance at the end of September. Lorenzo developed after a tropical wave moved off the west coast of Africa and rapidly grew in size. It was headed straight for the Azores, before making its way to Ireland and the UK. We contacted the marina to see if Jingo was safe and out of the water. She was still in the water. The marina had just finished lifting out the largest boats for the winter and had not yet gotten to ours. As Lorenzo was imminent, they weren't going to lift her out until the hurricane had cleared. Last August there was the earthquake in Trinidad that we didn't know about, causing structural damage to buildings just metres away from our boat and this year a hurricane. We were nervous. From speaking to the manager at the marina, you could tell he was well used the storms at this time of year. There was no panic. He had made sure all of our lines and covers had been securely tightened. On Wednesday 2nd October, Lorenzo passed over the Azores with 60kt winds. Mattis and I continuously watched Windy.tv with bated breath. There was nothing we could do if anything was to happen to Jingo, so we just waited. 

We didn't contact the marina until the Friday, as undoubtedly they would have been inundated with worried owners on the Thursday. When we did call on Friday, the manager said everything with Jingo was fine and not a single thing was damaged in the marina. Phew! Jingo came out of the water the following Monday, on the 7th, with no hiccups. It was great to see photos of the haul out. Time to resume normal life. For now.